The Battalion: April 7, 2014

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thebattalion l monday,

april 7, 2014

l serving

texas a&m since 1893

l first paper free – additional copies $1 l © 2014 student media

administration

Weber named TxDOT executive director

Provided by Aggie Athletics

Ricky Seals-Jones

football

Ricky SealsJones arrested

Kadie McDougald The Battalion

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t. Gen. Joe Weber, Texas A&M vice president for Student Affairs, will leave his position this month to join the Texas Department of Transportation as executive director. The move was announced Friday by TxDOT in a news release that stated Weber would take the position on or about April 23. “Over the past six years [the staff of the division of Student Affairs] have been a significant highlight in both my life and the lives of my family,” Weber said in a statement to the staff of the Division of Student Affairs. “I depart with comfort and confidence in knowing that the student body of Texas A&M remains in good hands and that its future accomplishments will be immeasurable.” The announcement came after Gov. Rick Perry, a former classmate of Weber’s at Texas A&M, asked TxDOT to consider Weber for the position. Lucy Nashed, spokeswoman for the governor’s office, said Weber has a “long and distinguished record of leadership.” “[Weber] has commanded large organizations, managed huge logistical challenges and directed thousands of people,” Nashed said. “The discipline and focus he will bring to TxDOT will be good for the agency, and most importantly, the people of Texas.” Interim University President Mark Hussey said in a memo Friday that he knew Weber would bring a commitment to excellence and service to his new position with TxDOT. “I am appreciative of the service that General Joe Weber, vice president for Student Affairs, has provided Texas A&M University over the past several years,” Hussey said. “I also plan to initiate a national search in the coming weeks to find a permanent replacement for this important position.” Bob Kaufman, chief communica-

Clay Koepke Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION

This statue in the likeness of President George H. W. Bush was unveiled Saturday at the Bush School as part of a comemmoration of the president’s time in office.

THE BUSH LEGACY Newly unveiled statue depicts president during his tenure Aimee Breaux The Battalion

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overnment officials, public figures and friends of the Bush family gathered this weekend at the George Bush Presidential Library to celebrate the legacy of the 41st president of the U.S. The weekend’s events commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 1989 inauguration of George H. W. Bush and included eight panel discussions, the unveiling of a statue in Bush’s likeness at the Bush School and a sneak peak at a documentary on the Bush Ad-

Library event marks 25 years since 1989 inauguration

ministration. Speakers and topics varied throughout the celebration, but the theme conveyed by the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation was clear: Bush sacrificed short term popularity in favor of the country’s long term benefit. At the “Lunch and Historian Book Report” panel, Jon Meacham, presidential historian and contributing editor at TIME magazine, said journalists contemporary to the Bush administration were often anemic to his presidency, despite the way he navigated through

national and international crises such as the peaceful ending of the Cold War. “One of the things that history can help fix in terms of what journalism sometimes misses is the current journalistic market tends to discount for success,” Meacham said. “You don’t get as much credit for what didn’t happen.” In the same panel, Mark K. Updegrove said the situation was complex at the time and Bush’s handling of the situation was an accomplishment of reSee Bush on page 4

See Weber on page 3

Softball loses series to Kentucky

The School of Public Health, housed in the Texas A&M Health Science Center, removed “rural” from its name on Friday.

The No. 18 Texas A&M softball team dropped two of three games in its fifth SEC series of the year. After stealing the first game of the series, the Aggies dropped the next two games to the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington.

The A&M track and field team totaled 10 victories and set two meet records at the Stanford Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Aggies claimed four victories on the track while adding six more titles in field events.

inside opinion | 3 Recipe for Chilifest survival Victoria Rivas explains her Chilifest experience and gives advice on how a future attendee can survive the weekend.

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edshirt freshman wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones was arrested on Northgate early Sunday morning. According to KBTX, Seals-Jones was arrested around 2:30 a.m. on charges of disorderly conduct. “According to police, Seals-Jones was being ‘carried away by his friends’ as the bars were closing in the 100 block of College Main,” the KBTX story stated. “An officer says he saw someone bump into Seals-Jones, which led the wideout to reportedly start exchanging words with the person.” Associate athletic director for media relations Alan Cannon said, “A&M officials have been made aware and are looking into the incident.” Seals-Jones’ attorney Cameron Reynolds said in a press release that the receiver will fight the charges. “[Seals-Jones] had nothing to drink and was at home when a friend called him to come to Northgate to give him a ride home,” Reynolds said in the release. “Ricky went to Northgate to help his friend toward the car when someone struck him. When Ricky turned toward him the person cursed him and called Ricky the ‘N’ word. Words were exchanged and Ricky was arrested. The other individual was not arrested.” Seals-Jones posted to his Twitter account at 6:30 p.m. Sunday: “Drag my name threw the dirt…more motivation to the seals-jones family.”

film

thebatt.com

Track nets 10 wins at Stanford Invitational

The Battalion

Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION

school of public health

Name change to help job opportunities ‘Rural’ dropped from title to ease student concerns Alexander Nelowet

The Battalion he formerly named Texas A&M University School of Rural Public Health removed the “rural” part of its name on Friday in an effort to reduce the limitations on employment opportunities that several of its graduates said occurred because of the title. The altered school name went into effect to coincide with the start of National Public Health Week. Jim Burdine, interim dean of the school of public health, said one of the main reasons for the change was to help students who were having problems after graduation with finding jobs in urban areas. He said it is a kind of rebranding to show their school doesn’t just deal in rural health.

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“Some of our students were telling us that when they went out for job interviews they were at a disadvantage because they always had to explain why their degrees were from a school of rural public health,” Burdine said. “They had to explain that their degree didn’t mean that they had only been trained to work in rural counties but that they had been trained to work in any kind of environment, including urban areas.” Kristina Beaugh, graduate student and president of the Rural Public Health Student Association, said the association will also change its name. Beaugh said the change will be beneficial to students because it will help graduates of the school find more versatile options after graduation. “I definitely see it as something that will impact our career search in the future after we graduate,” Beaugh said. See Public health on page 2

Festival connects film pros, amateurs Filmmakers share tales of success, experience Nina Smith

Special to The Battalion ctors, producers, directors and writers — amateur and professional — gathered in Bryan and College Station Saturday and Sunday to create a temporary mecca for aspiring filmmakers, the Texas Independent Film Festival. The festival included screenings of short films, a feature film, interactive panels, Q&A sessions and workshops for aspiring students and people interested in film. Sophomore Jack Hansen, a member of the Aggie Screenwriting, Act-

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ing and Movie Production Club and emcee for the festival, said most of the films were from the state of Texas, but some were from out of state. In years past there were contest films from places as far as Israel, Hansen said. A panel discussion was held Saturday afternoon with three filmmakers of the documentary, “An American Journey.” Open to questions from students and festivalgoers, the panel provided an opportunity for the filmmakers to share words of wisdom on making it in the film industry. “Never give up” became the theme of most advice from the mouths of Paul Blackthorne, CamSee Film festival on page 2

Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION

Producer Cameron Fletcher participates in a panel discussion regarding the documentary “This American Life.”

4/6/14 8:54 PM


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